Author: bradcheap82

(Bloomberg) — The South African rand is the calmest it’s been in nine years, but the drop in volatility points to a troubling cause: a long-term decline in investor interest in the country.Historical price swings in the currency often seen as a bellwether for emerging markets have fallen to less than 12%, the lowest level since June 2015. A key factor driving this shift is the reduced foreign ownership, particularly of government bonds, which has lowered the need for investors to hedge against currency risks, according to Warrick Butler, head of foreign exchange trading at Standard Bank. “There’s less need to…

New genetic tools reveal the dual roles of senescent cells in liver disease—macrophages drive fibrosis, while endothelial cells repair damage, unlocking potential for targeted therapies. Study: Identifying specific functional roles for senescence across cell types. Image Credit: crystal light / Shutterstock In a recent study published in the journal Cell, researchers explored the diverse functional roles of p16Ink4a+ senescent cells across different cell types in aging, regeneration, and disease, using novel genetic tools to trace, ablate, and manipulate these cells in vivo. Background Cellular senescence is crucial in processes like aging, cancer, and disease. Induced by stress, it involves cell-cycle arrest, cyclin-dependent…

Ireland captain, Paul Stirling, top-scored with a finely crafted 88 from 92 balls in a much-improved Irish performance as they posted a total of 284 for nine to beat South Africa by a comprehensive 69 runs after choosing to bat first in the third and final one-day international against South Africa at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Monday. Allrounder Jason Smith struck a defiant, brilliant 91 from 93 balls with nine fours and four sixes to significantly lower the margin of defeat as South Africa succumbed to 215 all out but there was always too much work…

The program will document William throughout the first year of his Homewards initiativePrince William has found himself at the center of a royal controversy with his latest endeavor. The Prince of Wales emphasised the importance of “changing and tackling the narrative around homelessness” in anticipation of his upcoming ITV documentary. The program will document William, 42, throughout the first year of his Homewards initiative, which seeks to address various aspects of homelessnessAsked about his drive to stem the issue, William said: “I think it’s really important that we can try and change, and tackle, the narrative around homelessness.“People live with it,…

By Kirsty Needham China’s Pacific ally Kiribati criticises Beijing missile launch SYDNEY, – The Pacific Island nation of Kiribati has issued rare criticism of China over last month’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, saying the Pacific is not “isolated pockets of ocean” and it “does not welcome” Beijing’s action. Kiribati, a Pacific Ocean neighbour of Hawaii with a vast Exclusive Economic Zone of 3.6 million square kms has developed close ties to Beijing in recent years including hosting Chinese police. China conducted a rare launch of an ICBM with a dummy war head on Sept. 25 that landed in…

South Africans have been treated in recent days to a series of cartoons depicting a gnu, a notoriously ungainly creature also known as a wildebeest. With its boxy head, heavy-built front half and spindly hindquarters, it is said to resemble an unfortunate composition of several animals. The gnu of the cartoons also takes its name from the acronym of the Government of National Unity, proposed by President Cyril Ramaphosa as a solution to the dilemma posed by last month’s election: that the African National Congress, the party that brought liberation from white minority rule 30 years ago, no longer has…

Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS), a leading provider of solutions in digital experience, business process management (BPM) and digital media services, announced the opening of a new CX hub in South Africa to support both new and existing customers. Located in Cape Town’s Woodstock neighbourhood with good proximity to airports, hotels, and public transport, the new CX hub opens several permanent leadership and frontline positions to help support U.S., UK, and Australian clients in any industry. HGS expects to hire over 400 employees locally across voice and non-voice customer experience roles as well as corporate support functions by March 2025. South…

Image: NintendoAlthough we’re now on the cusp of the Switch “successor” announcement, Nintendo is still rolling out regular updates for its current generation hybrid system. With this in mind, it’s today bumped up the Switch firmware to Version 19.0.0. According to the official patch notes, this is another super stable update to improve the overall user experience. Here’s the full rundown: Ver. 19.0.0 (Released October 8, 2024) General system stability improvements to enhance the user’s experience. Dataminer ‘OatmealDome’ is investigating what’s going on behind the scenes with this latest update. If we hear anything else, we’ll let you know. The…

Citrus Growers Association chief executive Justin Chadwick issues statement in response to Bloomberg report The South African Citrus Growers’ Association (CGA) has issued a statement denying the industry is under threat from citrus greening disease. The statement was a response to a report published late last week by Bloomberg, in which the media outlet suggested South African citrus exporters faced a “new disease threat” amid ongoing tensions with the EU, and specifically rival citrus supplier Spain, over its handling of fungal infections. CGA’s chief executive Justin Chadwick described the claims as “inaccurate and misleading”. He commented: “Any suggestion that export…

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